Author Archives: admin-chris

Back for its second year, the Cold Weather Blues Fest is a Community organized showcase featured more than a dozen bands more than a dozen Toronto Beaches bars for two great nights of pure blues. https://www.facebook.com/pg/coldweatherbluesfest

We were deeply saddened to hear of the sudden passing of James Gray on Monday August 5th at the age of 52. Over the years, James performed regularly at Castro’s Lounge playing keyboard and accordian, most recently with The Tom Waits Appreciation Congregation and The Gypsy Rebels. His talent, enthusiasm and good nature made him […]

Noire de Chambly pours a deep mahogany brown, with a light tan head of stiff bubbles. Aroma is rich roasted malts, with some spicy notes that could be from the yeast or wheat in the grain-bill (or both). Taste is also well balanced, with sweet caramel malts, spiciness that is probably from the wheat at […]

A fairly unusual style here in North America, Maibock or Helles Bock are lighter colour cousins of standard Bocks (“Helles” is German for “pale”). These beers are often brewed for consumption in spring (“Mai” being “May” in German; it’s like a language lesson all up in here today. “Rolltreppenbenutzungshinweise” translates to “Tips for using the […]

The beer that birthed the craft brewing revolution in North America, Anchor Steam — aside from being a piece of history — is also an awesome beer. Anchor is the only remaining gold-rush era brewery in San Francisco. Started in 1874, it survived through the 1906 earthquake (okay, it was actually destroyed, but they rebuilt), […]

A Spanish take on a continental pils, Estrella pours a light yellow, with a bit of fuzzy white head. Light cereal grains show some sweetness, and there is a touch of grassy hops. It is light bodied, with a bright effervescent carbonation. Finish is clean with a touch of lingering grainy malts. ABV: 5.2% Style: […]

A style not many Canadians are familiar with, Dunkel Lager, or dark lagers bear aroma and flavour similarities to porters and stouts, but are brewed with lager yeast and aged, which give them clean crisp finishes. King’s version is a huge award winner, taking silver in it’s category in the World Cup of Beer. This […]

While Dieu du Ciel! is often cited as the producers of the epic Peche Mortel, it is important to remember they produce a veritable stack of incredible beers. Dernière Volonté is an incredible Belgian IPA, and for many people, was their first example of the style. Cloudy and heady, with a big nose of fruity […]